The Thought That Counts
by Amarissia
Summary: Angeal's love for Zack is further complicated when the boy is given a drug with interesting side effects. Zangeal, non-con, sex, hurt/comfort, violence. Amarissia is back! Rated M, seriously.


_Oh yes, Ammy-chan is back. In honor of the FFVII remake announcement, and because a friend on Facebook (*waves*) asked for more of my FFVII writing, here it is, a brand new Zangeal._

 _If you liked my other Zangeal, you'll like this. If you don't, you probably won't. If you're Choir!Zack, you'll stare daggers at me from across the room. Zack, I made you stronger._

 _Zack: "I am tired of being - "_

 _*covers mouth* No spoilers._

 _Zack: "Oh please, if they know you, they know what's coming."_

 _Erm, yeah. Non-con hurt/comfort coming omigod. No offense intended to Nomura-sama, who probably reads our fanfic and whacks off to it in the Squeenix basement. And really, who wouldn't?_

 **THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS**

"You got it?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Of course I got it."

Two peas in a pod, the instructors called 2nd Class SOLDIERs Bryson and Burr. Both strong physically. good in action but prone to disobedience, friendly only with each other, with a tendency to be sullen and jealous of other people. Mostly the 22-year-olds were envious of 3rd Class Zack Fair, who at only 15 was not only a rising star in SOLDIER, but the apprentice of Commander Angeal Hewley.

It wasn't right, the two friends agreed, that the stoic commander who rarely gave his subordinates praise would be so obviously fond of and loving towards an annoying kid. He had the whole 1st Class treating the boy like a pet, even Sephiroth and Genesis, and it wasn't fair. Zack Fair might be a prodigy, but why did he deserve the time and obvious love of such a private man?

And why should the revered commander be made to suffer so? Everyone knew from watching him that he was in love with his student, but his honor kept him from laying a more-than-friendly finger on the boy.

Bryson inspected the small glass vial with a cruel smile. Well, as dutiful subordinates, they were going to see that the commander got what he wanted.

 _azazazaz_

Zack was having a good day. Morning training with Angeal was always fun, being allowed to pepper his swordwork with as many back flips as he wanted, and working as hard as he could to be rewarded with his mentor's handsome smile. He may have been born to wield a blade, but Zack lived for pleasing Angeal.

He wondered how Angeal's meeting was going; the poor guy had to sit through a lot of them. Well, at least there might be a mission lined up for them, he assumed that was what Burr and Bryson wanted to talk to him about. They didn't seem to like Zack much and didn't seek him out for small talk.

There the 2nds were, as agreed, outside the apartment Zack shared with his mentor. They smiled, a good sign.

"Hey, Zack, thanks for meeting us."

"No prob," the 15-year-old said cheerfully. "What's up? Something exciting?"

"Very, but it's classified. Can we talk privately?"

"Sure! Come on in."

Zack opened the door with a key card and headed toward the kitchen, grabbing a water from the fridge. "You guys want a drink or anything? I've got macaroons my mom sent - "

Zack halted suddenly and dropped his bottle. Bryson was aiming a handgun at him, and though he was smiling, he didn't seem to be joking.

"Wh-What's going on?"

"Simple. You do what I say or you bleed out in agony from a bullet in your gut."

Zack looked in terror to Burr, who was almost able to hide his pity. "I don't have much money on me, but - "

"Not interested, _Puppy_."

Zack had hoped this was about robbery...Angeal had always guarded him from worse things. "Th-Then what? Look, if you just leave I swear I won't tell."

"Take your clothes off."

 _Gaia, not that. Angeal is so scared of this happening, Genesis told me so. This will kill him._

"Please..."

"Now."

"I'm fifteen, I can't consent, it's double the sentence for statutory - "

"Oh, we won't be the ones fucking you, though I won't be able to resist a little sampling. We're gonna get you ready for the guest of honor. Now take them off."

Trembling, Zack pulled his sleeveless sweater over his head. He stepped out of his boots and socks, dropped his loose pants to the floor. He looked at Bryson, silently pleaded.

"Underwear too."

As soon as the briefs were off, Zack covered his crotch with both hands. He had never dated, never been seen nude by anyone but his parents and doctors, and had never been in any hurry to explore this part of life. Now he wished he'd accepted Kunsel's advances, Luxiere's, Genesis's, anyone's.

 _Gaia, I'm going to be raped. I want Angeal. I should scream, but the apartments are sound-proofed. Can I get to the door?_

Zack feinted to the left, dashed right, and nearly made it to the exit, but Burr blocked him, and Bryson seized him around the waist and pulled him down the hallway toward the bedrooms. Zack did scream, stopping in a gasp as he was slammed into the wall beside one of the doors.

"Shut up. Oh, the little prodigy is crying? What do you have to cry about? Class pet, the commander's baby, loved by everyone. I want to see you taken down a notch, but who knows, you might enjoy what we have in store for you."

The boy was hyperventilating as his arms were held hard enough to bruise. "P-Please, I'll do anything, just don't, not this."

Bryson dragged him into Angeal's bedroom, a place that had always meant safety, where he'd once slept after a nightmare, where Angeal showed him photographs, where he'd been taught how to tie a necktie. This was the opposite of safety, somehow even more so when Bryson hugged him tightly and pet his spiky hair. Zack could feel the gun holstered at the man's waist.

"Ssh, it's okay. You'll like who we picked to deflower you, and we've got a little potion to make you like it. Burr?"

The other stepped forward, expression resolute, and held out a small vial. "Drink."

"Wh-What - "

"Essence of the Allyria flower distilled in vodka. It causes intense sexual arousal, you'll like it."

"P-Please - "

"Do it," Bryson said, softly and with menace. "Or the commander will find you full of holes on his bed."

 _Angeal._ Though his hands shook, Zack got the bottle to his lips and drained it.

"Wh-Why? What have I done to you?"

"We all work hard to impress the general and the commanders, and hardly anyone ever does. Then you come along, and the general lets you get away with everything, Genesis fawns over you, and the commander acts like you're his own kid. You're a 3rd younger than most of the cadets and all the execs talk about is what a star you are. You've had enough luck, time for a little pain, although - oh, feeling it already?"

Zack was rapidly blinking with confusion, swaying on his feet. Burr, with more gentleness than one might expect, eased the boy into a seat on the bed. Bryson watched Zack with interested hunger as a faint blush colored the teenager all over his milky skin, and a glaze came over his eyes. He was still breathing in pants, but the panic was accompanied now by something that scared him more. Scariest of all - Zack's penis was hardening and rising up. He looked at it and softly wailed, making Burr wince.

"Good puppy," Bryson cooed. "Feels good, doesn't it? Do you even masturbate? Don't worry, I'll show you how it's done. Lay down."

Zack didn't seem to hear. Burr settled him so he was on his back atop the blankets and aranged a pillow beneath his head. Zack's head lolled, but he was trembling, with a want he didn't want. He felt dizzy, like he had a fever, and intuitively knew the only cure for this was being touched.

Bryson confirmed it as he stroked circles into the taut stomach. "You know how this stuff works? You have to come, over and over until the potion is purged from your system. Even if you could resist the need to, denying yourself would destroy your sanity. So you'd rather play, right?"

It was clear Bryson didn't care about Zack's answer. He grabbed between the smooth thighs, and Zack arched up and screamed, but also ejaculated hard, soiling himself, the hand and the bed with pearly white. Panting, he shut his eyes and wept as Bryson licked his fingers.

"Damn, he actually tastes sweet. Burr, try him, it's good."

He was a better man than Bryson, a born follower only doing the evil will of others, but Burr wanted Zack too, and he came over to lick the pretty boy's come.

"Mmm. You're right."

"You want to try it, little puppy?"

Zack whimpered, wouldn't open his mouth for the tongue that pushed at his lips. He only relented in alarm when Burr's mouth enclosed his hard-again cock, and he couldn't concentrate on either violation, the aggressive kiss or the hot mouth making him swell. He didn't want to come, but another orgasm ripped through him. His jaw relaxed, eyes rolled, hips jerked up. Burr was sucking him so hard he was already stiffening again, and Bryson kissing his neck. Both felt good, and Zack would rather have died than live another moment of it, happy, carefree Zack Fair.

At least Bryson finally drew back, but it was to taunt in a horribly gentle voice. "This is what everyone at ShinRa wants from you, and would take given the chance. You're annoying as hell, but people put up with you for a chance at your ass. Everyone who's nice to you only does it because they want to fuck you. Even Commander Hewley wants you, and he's your guardian. You ruin even honorable men."

In a haze of arousal and misery, Zack found anger. "Y-You lie, don't lie - "

"He wants you. Everybody knows it, we all talk about it. He probably thinks he loves you, but it all comes out to the same thing. How does that make you feel, Fair, that your daddy wants to claim your little virgin hole?"

Zack was sobbing too hard to care about his erection. He didn't believe it, wouldn't mind if Angeal wanted him, but knew Angeal would never touch him unless he wanted it. He was more upset that if it were true (and it made sense), that meant he had been denying his adored mentor something; the guilt on top of his nausea and cinfusion made him weep harder.

He loved Angeal, he knew that. He'd had a crush on him when the man first became his mentor, but it had mostly faded away after enough time of the commander treating him like a favorite child. Zack knew, at least, and could not be convinced otherwise, that Angeal would never harm him.

 _I want Angeal._

He wanted those broad arms around him, even the embarrassing way they lifted him off his feet to hug him. He wanted the hand that pet his hair and the laugh that came whenever the spikes sprang back. He wanted the deep voice that offered praise and encouragement, that softened when Zack was upset and called him "my baby Puppy" when they were alone.

Zack came again, couldn't see through his tears whose hand did it. He realized faintly that his enemies were arguing, Burr saying they should make a phone call and Bryson saying he wanted to "play more."

"We agreed, we don't penetrate him."

"I'm not gonna fuck him, I just want to see how tight it is inside him."

"Fine, one finger. _He_ would be able to tell if he wasn't a virgin - "

"And the whole point is making him take it away. I know."

"Please, don't - "

Zack screamed without sound when his leg was lifted and a semen-slicked finger pushed into him with little caution.

"Don't stretch him," Burr cautioned.

"I'm not, I just want to find..."

One brush of the prostate was enough. Zack didn't have the energy to arch up, but he orgasmed, and this time Bryson drank it, then licked his lips.

"Damn. Okay, send the text. If I stay here much longer, I'll need to fuck him. Don't forget to use AnonNumber, we can't risk being traced."

"Uh-huh."

While Burr dialed on his cell phone, Bryson smoothed Zack's hair and kissed him again. "We'll play again once you're broken in, pretty. Enjoy your first time."

Zack held his breath until they were gone, then exhaled a long and loud scream. He didn't expect to be heard. He just didn't know what else to do.

 _azazazaz_

Angeal studied his phone as he left the conference room. He smiled at the text from Lieutenant Halvers saying Zack held excelled in mid-day weight training and had last been seen bouncing off to lunch with Kunsel. The commander was about to call his Puppy and offer to play a video game with him when a text came in from a blocked number, that was odd.

 **Commander Hewley, greetings from two fans. In recognition of your outstanding leadership, we've left you a unique gift in your bedroom.**

 _In my bedroom? No one has access to my apartment but Seph, Gen, and Puppy. Puppy, are you trying to give me plushies again? You're so impossibly cute._

Angeal hoped, as he headed home, that Zack was behind this, just so he could hear the boy's mischievous giggle. He loved the boy with his whole heart, would do so in a parental and chaste manner forever, altering that only if, when Zack reached adulthood, he admitted the same romantic feelings that twinged Angeal's heart. If the boy didn't feel that way...well, Angeal was enjoying parenthood.

 _Well, he's already given me a Seph plushie, a Genesis plushie...maybe a Zack plushie this time? Pathetic me, I would probably sleep with it._

Angeal swiped his key card and strolled into the apartment. "Puppy, are you home?"

No answer. The 1st headed toward his room, opened the door, and his heart stopped a moment. Zack was on his bed, nude, very erect, and most importantly, sobbing.

"Puppy? Gaia, Pup, what's wrong? Puppy, talk to me."

"I'm sorry," the boy choked out. "Couldn't stop them...had...gun..."

"Okay, it's all right. What happened?"

Angeal touched the kid's forehead, frowning with intense worry when Zack cried out at the gesture and climaxed, clearly taking no more than a physical pleasure in it. This condition was not natural. Zack was a private boy who had not even shown interest in dating.

"Puppy, did they make you take something?"

"A-Allyria?"

 _Gaia, no._ Angeal was familiar with the herb; though hard to come by, it was used as a date-rape drug. Who could do this to an innocent 15-year-old? That could be dealt with later, right now he had to get Zack okay.

"Puppy, breathe and listen to me. How you're feeling is not your fault and I'm going to get you out of it. I'm going to have a doctor come here, put you under unconscious sedation, and...purge your body of the drug. I'm sorry, but ejaculation is the only way to get it out. Try not to be embarrassed, doctors have seen it all."

"N-No..."

"Puppy?"

"C-Can..." Zack looked at him pitifully, pleadingly. "Can you do it?"

 _You trust me that much?_ "Oh, baby Puppy. Maybe I could get away with it legally, since it's medically necessary. But I don't want you to feel any awkwardness with me. It wouldn't be right for me to - "

Zack squeezed his eyes shut and wept. Angeal wanted to hold him, but didn't dare risk making him come again and be further embarrassed. His resolve was crumbling fast. He couldn't bear to see the one he loved most so desperate and miserable.

"Don't want anyone e-else to touch. I trust _you_."

He was so hard it looked painful. Angeal pushed down every part of him that enjoyed the sight and sighed heavily.

"Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh."

"Just tell me when to stop. Come here, baby Puppy."

Angeal carefully brought the boy onto his lap. To Zack's vague relief, the man didn't show any disgust when the boy came at the mere touch of being held. Angeal carefully rocked him, took him in hand when he quickly re-stiffened. Zack burrowed into the embrace, tried to get close to his protector as possible. Angeal's heartbeat anchored him, layered a welcome calm over the boy's fear and pain. He was safe here.

He hardly needed to touch it before Zack came again, and Gaia, he hadn't thought it possible, but Zack was even lovelier when he was lost in pleasure. Angeal's feelings were already confusing enough without this situation, a combination of parental and romantic love all at once, a hope for a relationship someday while for now having fun being Zack's surrogate parent. The commander would see the company psychiatrist would he not, by doing so, risk having Zack taken away from him.

Guilt could wait for a calmer moment. Right now Zack needed him. The boy was coming almost constantly, re-stiffening every time he finished climaxing, moaning with his face pressed into Angeal's sweater.

"A-Angeal..."

"Is this helping, baby Puppy?"

"Feels good...I'm sorry..."

"This isn't your fault. I'll take care of everything once I get you better. Just relax."

"I need you I need more..."

"What do you need?"

Zack shifted, unsteadily groped for Angeal's zipper. The 1st didn't have the heart to deny him, though his heart sank at the realization. He wanted it too, but had never intended this way, this soon.

"Baby Puppy."

"I'm sorry but I need it, please, I'll die if you don't!"

"I won't let anything happen to you. Are you _sure_?"

"Yes!"

 _He can't consent, and even less so in this condition._ Nonetheless, Angeal settled Zack down on the sheets and stood to strip off his uniform. He knew from reading that anal sex helped purge Allyria from a body; that would be his excuse if he needed one. Not that he or Zack would tell anyone about this. They were too protective of each other, of the closeness they had.

 _Will we change, after this?_

Angeal brushed the thought away, slicked his fingers with oil and slowly slid them into the 15-year-old. Not only was Zack tight, he was pulsing inside like a fist clenching and unclenching rapidly. He shouldn't have felt so damn good, but he did. Angeal did his best to loosen him up as Zack continued to spurt, but he knew it would be a tight fit for Angeal's sizeable length.

The boy was growing exhausted, soon could no longer hold up a hand to stroke himself. He smiled tiredly as his mentor pushed the legs up and positioned himself.

"I've wondered about this."

"Puppy..."

"I'm glad it's you," Zack whispered, and closed his eyes.

Angeal went as slowly as he could, entering a centimeter at a time, giving his student time to adjust though he still frowned from the faint pain. Angeal didn't sheathe himself all the way, instead pressing his length against the prostate and concentrating his effort there. He rubbed it as gently as he could while stil applying enough pressure to stimulate it, and it seemed to work. Zack, barely awake, continued to spray the stomach above him, and groaned with satisfacton.

The boy's head was fuzzy, but he was enjoying his first time, no question, and his disjointed thoughts were full of love for Angeal. He smiled up at him, and was answered with a look of concerned affection.

"Okay, Puppy?"

"'S good, so good. Kiss me, just once?"

Angeal leaned down to meet the boy's open mouth, tasted its spring-water sweetness. Strangely, considering what they were doing, the kiss was slow, and sensual rather than sexual. In the midst of his shame and happiness, Angeal wondered when the drug's effect would stop. It didn't seem possible for one small body to be able to hold so much come.

He continued to apply pressure to the prostate, to handle and look down at Zack with tenderness. This boy was his, Zack's tired gaze of adoration confirmed that, his as an adopted child or maybe more. It occurred to both SOLDIERs almost simultaneously that it was, somehow, only right that Zack give his first time to Angeal. Who on Gaia did the boy love more? And surely no one could worship another person more than Angeal did Zack.

Somehow, exhausted as he was, Zack managed to wake himself to mere grogginess and stay there. He with difficulty lifted his arm to stroke the stubble on Angeal's chin that he loved, that always tickled his forehead when Angeal pecked it. Angeal reverently kissed the soft palm, and down to the wrist. He could smell Zack's sweet scent strongly here, as though it were a fragrance he put on.

"How is it, baby Puppy?"

Zack answered after another orgasm had ripped through him and eased. "So good...feels like you're touching everywhere inside, can you go deeper?"

"Baby, I don't want to tear you. I can make you feel good the best like this."

"Tear me, rip me apart," Zack groaned.

Angeal knew it was the drug talking. "I'm not going to hurt you. Let me do it like this...Gaia, you feel so good. You like it when I touch right here, don't you?" the 1st murmured seductively, trying to both distract and further arouse him. "You like all this cock in your hot little hole, don't you? You want me to fuck your sweet spot till you can't come anymore."

It worked, Zack went into his longest climax yet, several minutes of almost a seizure. He was shaking and clenching so much Angeal had to pull out to keep from losing his own control, and he watched with amazed want at the pale-rainwater eyes roll back. After a few minutes, Angeal edged downward, took the spasming cock in his mouth and sucked. His stomach felt full by the time he swallwed the last spurt.

Zack hardened again, but slowly this time. The drugged glaze to his exquisite eyes was clearing. _Thank you, Gaia._

"Baby, I think it's nearly out. Maybe one more will do it."

"Angeal?" The boy smiled as his hair was stroked. "Can you...come in me this time?"

"Puppy..."

"I won't ask again till I'm eighteen. I love you and I know you love me, and maybe one day we'll be together, and I can wait, but just in case...it's my first time and I want it to be complete. I want to give you what you're giving me."

"Baby Puppy, you've given me so much."

"Please? You can go back to being my daddy afterwards. Just...help me feel whole. Please, Angeal?"

Setting aside the shameful fantasy of getting Zack to call him Daddy in an intimate moment, Angeal considered, but only briefly. They had gone so far, it was only a little further Zack was requesting. And anyway, the 1st couldn't really say no to that angelic pout.

"If you tell me who did this to you afterward."

Zack bit his lip, but nodded. Angeal slicked his patient erection with some of the cooling spilled semen and gently lifted the teenager's legs again. A few fingers went in easily, as Zack's endless orgasms had relaxed him well, and he was still a bit stretched from sheathing Angeal earlier. This time, Angeal pushed his whole shaft in, slowly, careful to press the prostate as he went.

The boy winced, he was definitely tearing. But the pleasant heat inside him and in his crotch made up for it...not to mention his absolute dopey-grin glee. How exactly he loved Angeal, Zack wasn't sure, but he had never wanted anyone else for his first time. Angeal's weight above and soothing touches wrapped him in safety like angel's wings, and when Zack sought the slightly-dry lips, he was given them.

"My baby Puppy...does it hurt?"

"Nnn, it's so good...nnh!"

Zack slammed his hips up and began to shoot hard, feeling like he was shaking the last few drops out of a watering can. Angeal thrust hard several more times and followed him into nirvana. Semen gushed out of Zack's bottom, but Angeal continued to fill him in what had to be the best and longest orgasm of his life. When he collapsed next to Zack and held him close, the huge mess of come felt like glue holding them together. Instead of kissing Zack, he tucked the sweaty-spiked head under his chin, but Zack didn't seem to mind.

Angeal turned away only briefly to grab a small bottle from the bedside drawer. "Drink. No argument."

"A Potion? I'm okay, really."

"You're torn inside. This will heal it up and get rid of the soreness."

The boy swallowed the faintly bitter liquid and was rewarded by a stubble-rough kiss to his forehead. Zack tiredly slid his fingers into Angeal's inky black hair that felt slightly rough from so much sun exposure. Angeal's hand rubbed his back from nape all the way down, but the touch was only loving, trying to ease the little tension left in Zack from having his legs hoisted up so long. Zack smiled, though he wasn't sure what he was feeling beyond unconditional love.

"Am I your baby again, now?"

"You were always my baby," Angeal murmured, "no matter what we had to do."

"Are we gonna change?"

"You have at least till your eighteenth birthday to think that over. I think you know how I feel...but let me be clear. I'm happy with what we are now too. As long as I have my baby Puppy in my life, I'm a happy man."

Zack ran a finger down Angeal's cheek. "I love you more than anything."

"And you're okay now?"

"I feel almost normal again."

Angeal entwined his fingers with Zack's. "Names, Puppy."

Sadness clouded the sky-colored eyes. "Bryson and Burr."

"Bullies. Lazard thought they'd grow out of it. Okay, thank you, Pup. I'll take care of it."

"Are you gonna...kill them?"

"Yes," Angeal said simply.

"But..."

"Baby Puppy, the alternative is to take them to trial. You'd have to testify. So would I...about what I just did to you."

"No trial," Zack said quickly. "But can't we just transfer them somewhere remote?"

Angeal's heart ached at how forgiving his student was. "Honey...they could do this to someone else."

He knew that would work, and it did. Zack closed his eyes briefly and expelled a mournful sigh.

"...okay. But won't you get in trouble?"

"No." The SOLDIER Trinity were so valued, nothing short of outright mutiny would cause them to be punished.

"I can't live without you, Angeal."

"You will never have to, Zack. I want you to get some rest, okay? I'm going to have Lieutenant Darvin posted outside the front door. If you can't sleep, eat and watch TV. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Zack hugged his mentor, so tightly it was as though he wanted to disappear into the bigger body. It was so cute and heart-warming that Angeal had to finally wrench himself away. He pecked Zack on the lips and left the room without looking back, only stopping to nod when Zack spoke.

"Make it quick for them. Please."

 _azazazaz_

"Gen, this is business. Please stop grinning maniacally."

"Hey, I rarely get to gut someone who _really_ deserves it."

"No gutting. You get one hit. Either sever the spinal cord, or go for the femoral or aorta. I told Zack minimal pain."

The corridor was empty, but Genesis still spoke softly, though with heat. "That child is traumatized and was drugged out of his mind. He didn't know what he was saying."

"He did, Gen."

"AFter what the fuckers did to him, he asks leniency? You have to harden him, 'Geal, if he's going to make it as a SOLDIER."

"I know. I just love him as he is."

Genesis spun his red sword slowly. "We all do, 'Gealy, especially me, his surrogate mommy. But he can't go around _forgiving_ people. It's unnatural."

"He's too good for this place," Angeal said softly. He was imagining the clean white walls around them dripping wuth the blood of everyone ShinRa had exterminated. "At least he gave me their names. He understands it needs to be done."

"Can I castrate?"

"Not if you ever want Zack to sit on your lap again."

"Good point. Especially now that I can control my erections."

Bryson and Burr came into view; both were on guard duty at a weapons vault. Burr had the sense to go white at the sight of 2/3 of the famous Trinity striding towards them. Bryson managed to put on a fake smile as he saluted.

"Commanders."

"Why?" Angeal spat, wasting no time.

Burr looked around wildly, took a stpe back from Genesis's murderous gaze. Bryson's put-on casualness was fading.

"Sir?"

"Why. Did you hurt. My kid," Angeal hissed. "You're going to die anyway, so tell the truth."

Burr whimpered as Rapier was pointed at his throat. "I-I tried to stop him - "

"Shut up, you did not." Nothing left to lose, Bryson smirked. "Why are you angry, Commander? You got to have him like you wanted, right? Everyone knows you want him. Your daddy thing doesn't fool anyone...or is that part of the fantasy?"

"Jim, shut up," Burr whispered.

"It's not like we hurt him or anything. I'm sure you made the puppy enjoy it. He sure liked it when I tested out his hole with my finger."

Angeal didn't use his famous Buster Sword (if nothing else, its size made it a pain to clean), but it was now pointed at Bryson. Desperation glowed in the 2nd's eyes. He was a dead man still weighted with the burden of life.

"I'm sick of that little brat getting his way in everything, spoiled by everyone like a fucking pet. Maybe he's good with a sword, but he makes a better whore. How was he? Did he bleed?"

"Not like you're both going to," Genesis said, and sliced through the vein in Burr's thigh.

The man fell with a howl, blood spurting all over, though not on Genesis, who was mindful of his clothes and stepped back. This seemed to shake Bryson out of his bravado. He stared slack-jawed at his friend until he went still, then looked in terror back to Angeal.

"Sir - "

"There is nothing you can say. You took something from Zack he can't get back. You hurt and frightened him. You invited this the moment you touched him."

"Gaia, I lift them up to you," Genesis murmured.

It came and ended quicker than Bryson deserved. His head was severed in one swipe, and he was gone before his body hit the floor. A 3rd passed by, and gaped, so shocked he forgot to salute.

"Traitors," Genesis said coolly. "Caught them trying to break into the vault. Alert maintenance, would you, dear?"

"Y-Yes, Commander."

"Does Puppy need his mommy now, 'Gealy, or should I give you two some alone time?"

"Could you stop by in a few hours for dinner? You're good at making him laugh, and he could use that."

"Of course. Try not to worry about Puppy too much," Genesis said, squeezing his shoulder. "He'll rebound. I'll take him off the schedule for a few days, and after a nice video-game-and-slasher-movie marathon, he'll be his old self."

"I don't want him to change."

"That's where most of your grief comes from. People change, 'Gealy. The Goddess wills it."

"I know..."

"And She wills us to love. However we end up doing it."

"Thank you, Gen. Really."

"But if you don't want him, can I - ow! Can't a concerned mommy make a joke?"

 _azazazaz_

Angeal found Zack not resting or weeping, but showered and stripping the linen from the bed and tossing it into the hamper. The boy gave his mentor as much of a genuine smile as he could, but the love in it was unmistakeable.

"Hey."

"Hi, Pup. How do you feel?"

"You expected me to be a mess, huh?" Zack made a face at a sticky pillow case, then tossed it onto the pile of dirty laundry. "I'm okay. Potion worked. Are they dead?"

The casual tone didn't fool Angeal. "Without pain. Genesis even prayed for them."

"I did too."

Angeal smiled wistfully. "Sometimes I think I don't deserve the goodness around me."

Zack bounded over and grabbed his teacher into a hug. "You're the best guy I ever knew. I love you."

"I love you, baby Puppy."

"Can I sit on your lap?"

"Always." Zack had done this for years, though he wasn't touchy-feely with most other people. "What are you thinking about?"

"What you told me to think about."

"Just so you know, Pup - "

"I know." Zack rubbed his nose against Angeal's. "Your baby till I'm eighteen. This is the weirdest relationship ever."

Angeal laughed and pressed a kiss into the lavender-scented hair. "I never claimed to be normal, nor did you."

"How can I? The guy I might marry calls me his baby, one of his best friends makes me call him Mommy, and the other can set things on fire by looking at them. Most people my age are only worried about dating, I have to deal with men so jealous they drug me."

"You're going to be followed by 1sts until I feel safe again. I'm having our security system replaced."

"And you'd put a tracking chip in my phone if you hadn't already," Zack finished. "I'm sure this was a fluke. Bryson and Burr were the only ones I sensed danger from."

"If anyone else gives you a bad feeling - "

"I'll tell you or Gen or Seph. Don't worry, Angeal."

"It's a by-product of love, as much as happiness is."

"I want to always make you happy," Zack said sincerely. "What can I do?"

"Just keep being my baby Puppy."

"Should I call _you_ something? How about - " Zack's eyes glinted evilly.

"Don't," Angeal groaned.

"I love you, Daddy," Zack said in a baby voice, then giggled.

"Keep it up, and you're doing the laundry alone."

"We can do this together, right?"

Angeal knew he meant more than the dirty sheets. He nodded and indulged them both, held the teenager tightly a while longer.

 **END**

 **I will try to do more FFVII. I'm even thinking of taking up "With the Dead" again...I've been feeling stupid for abandoning it over one bad review. I'm just not used to them, so I guess I don't react well. What do you think?**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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